Three's Alliance
by PetitAngel1
Summary: At the end of the fourth year, a shock announcement entails Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang be merged together for three years and now all the students must live together and learn on the same grounds as one another. Unknowing to them, Dumbledore's preparing them all for a war that's getting closer by every passing second. Harry/Fleur Draco/Hermione
1. Announcement

**A/N:** _This is my first HP fanfiction. I always intended to write one but the fandom's so large, it's kind of intimidating! Hope you guys enjoy. I don't know if I'll stick with the 'T' rating but we'll have to see for now. Pairings will be Fleur/Harry and Draco/Hermione. Feedback/Constructive criticism would be nice and heavily appreciated to hear as I am very new to writing HP fics so please review if you have the time or like this fic. I would definitely appreciate it! Oh and it's hard to write Fleur since I have to remember her lines need to be frecnh-sounding like in the books/movies but hopefully I got her right without overdoing it. Slight Ron bashing also contained as well as manipulative Dumbledore..._

* * *

Although she had not won the Triwizard Tournament, the outburst of cheers and congratulations from the other girls at Beauxbatons made it feel like she had. Almost everyone was joining in on the applause and many speaking highly of her courage and skill, especially during the infamous challenge involving the deadly dragon that almost burnt her to a crisp. Her heart was beating endlessly during the whole thing and while she had not won the tournament, she had definitely won a multitude of affection from various boys at Hogwarts. The 'boy who lived' interested her the most however. The image of his scar burnt right into her own memory. The boy spoke of strange tales and theories, mostly concerning a horrifying fact that the 'Dark Lord' has returned but of course, there was no way that was true. Fleur knew, along with everyone else, that 'he who must not be named' was dead. Dead a long time ago, the remains of him vanished into darkness. Gone, along with the dust and dirt he stood once upon. It wasn't too hard to believe that people still supported him but prophesying that he had returned from the dead was pretty ridiculous.

Yet the feeling of hidden truth haunted Fleur ever since the end of the tournament, when the winner was truly revealed. She couldn't get the dead body of the Hufflepuff boy out of her mind. Nightmares became more vivid and violent, screams of pain and terror raising in intensity as if she was actually there, witnessing Cedric's death first hand. She tried to ignore it, tell herself that the monster wasn't real but deep inside of her, she secretly knew that Harry was telling the truth. Yet she just didn't have the courage that everyone else thought she had to admit it.

She opened her eyes, trying to get comfy on the bed but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get to sleep. Although she tried blaming the terrible quality of the Hogwarts living conditions since it absolutely faltered in the comparison of the beautifully decorated and designed Beauxbatons bedrooms with silky luscious pillows made out of the fur of unicorns themselves, she knew she had too much on her mind to sleep peacefully tonight. The window next to her only showed the pitch-black night sky, glowing stars radiating the only source of light in the room and as she looked out of it, she witnessed a strange glowing light visible outside. She recognised what the light was immediately. The 'Lumos' spell. She planted her face against the window, trying to see who it was. It was definitely a student from Hogwarts but he was too far away to identify. Curiosity got the best of her and putting on some slippers, she exited the bedroom and made her way through the corridor and down the stairs, her footsteps silent and cold in order to not alert anyone of her presence. She opened the door to the outside courtyard, looking around for the light to guide her in the direction of the mysterious individual. She has no clue what this person was doing up so late at night but she just wanted to know. She followed the bright light to the bridge, where the student seemingly stopped and glanced at the frozen river, resting his hands on the snowy railing. The river was completely covered with ice and the cold made Fleur shiver delicately. The light disappeared in a flash as they stopped moving. She stepped onto the bridge and with a few deep breathes, she called out to the stranger...

"Hey. Who is zat?" cried out Fleur with intrigue, slowly stepping forward to get a better image of the student. This was definitely a boy. She could make out his raven black hair and a Gryffindor robe as well as some glasses. The boy turned around with a huff, sighing with annoyance at the French girl. Fleur gasped in shock. He was instantly recognisable with that lightning bolt scar. The stuff of legend. "Harry Potter!" Harry didn't seem to react with as much enthusiasm, instead glaring at her with indifference.

"Fleur? You followed me down here? That's interesting..." he said with a slight frown, rubbing his messy hair with his hand in order to make it look a little bit neater. Fleur was slightly flattered at the attempt regardless.

"I 'ad nothing better to do." Fleur responded, laughing it off. Silence surrounded the both of them, only the cold air whistling past them making any resemblance of a noise. In an attempt to break off the silence, she questioned Harry again politely. "Why are you here all alone so late at night?"

"I like being alone from time to time. It's peaceful. Helps me think." Harry responded blatantly, clutching his hands together from the cold. "Especially when everyone back in the common room is calling you crazy or a freak. I never asked for this. To be famous. To be the chosen one. Ron thinks it's great that everyone's gawping at your scar twenty-four hours a day. I'd gladly swap places with him any day of the week and watch how he realises that isn't the wonderful dream he thinks it is to be 'famous'." Harry ranted, looking back at the river with a scowl. His face was slightly red, the words that escaped him may not have been all deliberate. Fleur understood that he was just getting his grievances of his chest, an attempt to calm himself down. Fleur stood to the side of Harry, looking over the river. Despite the coldness, Fleur did not shiver but instead placed her hand on Harry's leaning arm softly. Harry's head did not turn from the river but his eye's were fixated to the right of him.

"I cannot lie. Zees is a terrible zituation for you Harry. I admeet I am sort of... Frightened. If he is back zen..." but Harry immediately cut her off, eyes widened and a look of shock on his pale, white face.

"Hang on. You believe me?" stated Harry in surprise, the impact of her words affecting him much more than she thought it would. Fleur sighed, brushing off the snow from her aqua blue jacket. She certainly didn't want to believe him. The most powerful dark wizard back at large. Just his name cast fear into even the toughest of hearts so obviously the scared majority brushed off Harry's claim, considering him paranoid but Fleur had no reason to doubt him. He was the saviour of her little sister and to that, Fleur decided that she owed him her own life. Harry was trustworthy and reliable in her mind, she was sure of it. Who else would murder an innocent Hogwarts boy in cold blood than he who must not be named himself.

"None want to believe you. My girls are denying it right now as we speak! They're being quite 'stupide' if I say so myself!" Fleur admitted, making Harry chuckle slightly at the random insult. "You zaved my seester Harry. I av no reason not to trust you." Harry smiled weekly at her honesty.

"Well at least that's one person who believes me. Well you, Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione. Although I'm not sure if they are saying it just because they're my friends or what. I don't put it past them to lie to me." Harry moaned, resting his head in his hand as he watched a delivery owl fly by.

"You need to have more faith in your friends." Fleur answered back thoughtfully and Harry nodded his head slowly.

"I know. I know. It's just I keep thinking everyone's against me. Not only do I have to deal with Voldemort coming back, (Fleur made a slight gag hesitating to stop him from saying his name) I have to deal with everything else. It's just so unfair..." Harry spoke sorrowfully, resisting the urge to make a tear fall down his face. Fleur, witnessing his upset demeanour, wrapped her arms around Harry and embraced him in a passionate hug. Although Harry was shocked at this unexpected hug, he didn't let go or push her away and the main reason was that an extremely attractive girl was barely a centimetre away from him right now. He couldn't help but immediately blush as she pushed forward to his own body, her hands stroking the back of Harry's neck. She let go after a few moments passed, the raven haired boy in utter disbelief as his green eyes were now focusing only on Fleur's delightfully happy face, Her face beaming with a golden smile.

"Hope zat made you feel better!" giggled Fleur. Despite her intention to make the hug a friendly gesture, Harry seemed to have considered it more than that. His blush rose in magnitude.

"Yeah... I mean it did. It totally did." Harry answered back quickly, rubbing the snow of his glasses. Then a loud "humph" came from behind the two. They both turned around frantically, realising Hermione was standing there looking rather bemused.

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" asked Harry. Fleur raised her eyebrows at the suspicious girl, only recognising her from the Yule Ball as Viktor Krum's date to the dance. Strangely, she was wearing her school robes this late at night while the other two were in their pyjamas and sleeping robes. Her face seemed to be on the urge of bursting into laughter.

"Me and Professor McGonagall were sorting out next year's timetable so I have permission to be out here so late at night. I've already finished so I was returning back to the dorms when I stumbled across..." she stopped suddenly, a snort came from her due to the fact that she was trying not to laugh rudely. Fleur rolled her eyes in annoyance, already disliking the immature girl.

"Nosy girl." whispered Fleur almost silently so only Harry could hear.

"Well we'd better get back to the common room Hermione. It's really late. Um... I'll see you at the end of year ceremony tomorrow I guess." Harry said kinda awkwardly, waving goodbye to Fleur. As the two ran off, Fleur could hear the girl giggling and clutching Harry's shoulders. She walked back to the Beauxbatons dorm rooms, wondering in her mind what Harry really witnessed that night of the finale. The ending of the triwizard tournament marked such a massive turning point that no one could truly forget. The innocent boy's death meant only one thing.

The Dark Lord had truly returned...

* * *

Fleur's early morning was typically uneventful. She got herself changed and spent a long time making herself look splendid. Although she always told her friends that the eyes of boys was something she didn't care much for, it was a pretty obvious lie. She loved being the centre of attention, especially when it came to really attractive boys but unfortunately the Durmstrang boys didn't seem to be too interested in the likes of dating. She followed the rest of the Beauxbatons students into the great hall, noticing Madame Maxime sitting next to the giant beast Hagrid. Olympus Maxime gave a polite nod in recognition and Fleur returned one. She sat down at the Ravenclaw table, next to a ditsy blonde that seemed to be reading a newspaper upside down. She was wearing a weird band of braclets with horrifically awful designs and in her pocket was some sort of hypnotic glasses that was quite discomforting to stare at. The strange girl gave a kind smile, putting down the paper on top of some chocolate cupcakes.

"I thought the maze was quite an easy task. Just give the plants some Laerium potion and they wouldn't attack you at all. Of course, you didn't know that! I'm Luna by the way. I'm a big fan!" the girl spoke excitedly but her face gave off a quite surprised look. Fleur struggled to respond but ended up giving the girl back a kind smile and a quick "Merci."which came across less sincere than she meant it to be. She turned her head to the Gryffindor table where she saw Harry speaking with a Scottish boy about something. She scoffed happily. He has so much more friends than he think! She stared at him for a while until Dumbledore's loud voice interrupted everyone's conversations. The voice almost made her jump.

"Silence!" shouted out Dumbledore and at that moment, all noise seem to cease to exist. "Before we begin the end of year festivities, we have an extremely important announcement to make." Fleur raised her eyebrows at the word 'we'. Madame Maxime and Igor Karkaroff got up from their seats and stood side by side to Dumbledore, both with stern, serious expressions on their face. Igor looked quite angry in fact, a scowl prominent on his face. Everyone's attention was undivided on the three leaders, no other sounds but their voices could be heard at all. "There has been careful deliberation and the staff from every school has thought long and hard about this decision. However we feel that what we are about to do will not only guarantee protection but it will also have the opportunity to save lives. Danger lurks in every corner, from the veil of darkness covering the tiniest of secrets to the blossoming flower that poisons even the most knowledgable of travellers. My top priority is the safety of all students, whether my own at Hogwarts to the ones Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Although you may not know it, the danger I have warned you about is coming. Faster than ever. We cannot avoid it, nor stand by idly as we let it consume us. We must fight it. That is why..." Dumbledore spoke emotionally and he motioned a hand gesture to Karkaroff, his twinkling eyes focusing on the once evil man.

"From next year onwards, everything will change for all of you. Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will merge together as one. You will all stay, learn and live on these very grounds until the O.W.L.S. There will be no disputes or arguments on this matter. The decision has already been made." Karkaroff said quite uncharacteristically, barely any emotion featured on his face.

There was a massive uproar by all the students. Fleur gasped in shock, realising why this was happening. This was all because of the Dark Lord's return! It had to be! What Harry said was entirely true. Death was coming any moment...

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 **A/N;** _Sorry about the short chapter but the next ones will be MUCH longer. Most likely around 4K each. Hope you guys enjoyed!_


	2. Devastation

The outcry of the school was no shock to the headmaster, instead already assuming this from the moment he came up with the idea of the merge. His plan of the merge had actually orginated two years ago but countless debates and arguments with the French and Scandinavian ministries had finally allowed his plan to come into fruition this year. Of course, his real intentions were never revealed to the ministries itself. Instead, he convinced them that they would save a countless amount of money from the merge, predictably giving his idea immediate merit to the ministries. When he had finally won their trust and support, a small smile fell upon his lips. Currently swimming in his mind was the day he had finally won them over and therefore succeeding in his first of many plans:

* * *

 _"Surely Albus. All these meetings and discussions you've been going to lately. Aren't you tired at all from all of it?" asked McGonagall with a worried look visible on her face. It wasn't too hard to spot the darkened eye-bags planted under the wise headmaster's twinkling blue orbs. If this wasn't a big enough hint, the loud yawn basically gave it all away that he was finally glad to rest on his delicate, smooth throne. Dumbledore chuckled slightly at the intriguing question, instead handing over a document to her with some eagerness._

 _"Quite the contrary Minerva. I think the right word is restless as of right now. Please read that over for me." Dumbledore said gently, his smile refusing to fade away. Minerva put on her silver glasses and scanned the document. When she had finally finished it, she gasped and turned to Dumbledore with a shocked expression._

 _"They all agreed? But how? How did you convince them?" asked Minerva impressed, grinning as she reread the signed document. It portrayed the authority for the merging with the signatures of all the necessary power figures. Snape walked up to the headmaster's desk slowly and while he was not smirking or grinning, he also gave off the impression that he was slightly impressed at Dumbledore's accomplishment._

 _"While I am also somewhat keen to know, it is, in the long run, trivial and pointless to explain in any detail. What we now need to know is how will these addition of students fulfill what you're planning? Are they shields, distractions, soldiers?" muttered Snape in interest, grabbing his arm with his hand quite fiercely. Minerva looked solemnly at Snape, quite distressed at how he described the foreign students. Dumbledore rubbed his forehead and glanced at Snape with a resolutely but stern look._

 _"I promise you that they won't be casualties."_

* * *

The cries of anger and disapproval took up the entire hall until Dumbledore raised his voice once more:

"Silence!" His voice boomed through the whole hall and nearly every other sounds ceased to exist after this. Silence resulted immediately. "I know this is very troubling and shocking news for each and every one of you but right now, you are all in danger!" Whispers began to echo throughtout, many even scoffing at the idea. Prideful yet smart, the Durmstrangs were quite used to facing danger. In fact, on a usual day their tasks would involve defeating deadly magical creatures by themselves. There was certain talk that they even battled a 'Nundu" which was a large beast infamous for its toxic breath and sharp exterior but as of so far, this was only a rumour. The tone of the hall went from anger to curiosity, many conversations discussing what this danger actually was. Harry turned to Ron and Hermione who were eyeing each other suspiciously at what the headmaster had just said.

"You don't think he's referring to..." said Ron quietly but Harry and Hermione already knew what he was going to say. It was pretty obvious to them why this was happening.

"Voldemort's return. It has to be!" interrupted Harry with a short stutter, gathering the attention of some other Gryffindor boys but the trio attempted to ignore them.

"Yeah but what help would merging our school with theirs accomplish? Didn't Dumbledore consider any of the barriers that'll hinder this plan. I mean, come on! The Beauxbatons girls speak French for the most part. I can't speak French! Their education should be much different as well!" muttered Hermione, her eyebrows raised and her mind deep in thought, desperately trying to think of a way that this merging of the three schools would cause a positive outcome. Ron sighed exaggeratedly and pointed at Harry.

"I get it! I totally do. He's trying to gather more forces for his army!" explained Ron, resulting in Hermione rolling her eyes.

"Seriously Ronald? An army? Dumbledore doesn't see his students as soldiers. He isn't like that. This is a school, not a battleground." responded Hermione, stroking her hand through her brown, glistening hair. Ron shook his head.

"Its obvious Hermione. If Voldemort does attack us, he would bring Death Eaters with him. If the three schools team up, we'll outnumber them!" said Ron smartly, a grin plastered on his face.

"There aren't many Death Eaters left in the first place. Most of them are either in Azkaban or dead so we would definitely outnumber them." Harry added.

"Well yes but Voldemort doesn't just have the Death Eaters. We would also have to deal with the trolls, the..." but just before Hermione could list off the rest of the creatures that aid darkness, Dumbledore spoke up again.

"You might be wondering what this danger is? Where has this sudden change appeared from and why now at this very moment? Unfortunately, this danger can not be underestimated or looked over. In fact, it has already nearly harmed one of your very own." Dumbledore continued and he stepped back slowly, nodding as Madame Maxime strolled over to his position. Her usual passive, posh demeanour wasn't as obvious as it usually was. Her stride not as perfect as it always was. Fleur and the rest of the Beauxbatons girls noticed it straight away, no need for them to deliberate amongst themselves. Something was definitely up.

"My girlz. I 'ad to agree to this decision! You see, while we were 'ere, the splendid Beauxbatons zuffered an attack! By dark wizards. The Death Eaters!" Fleur gasped in horror while her fellow friends wallowed in despair, many holding back tears and hugging one another in support. Madame Maxime attempted to continue but she seemed to be on the verge of tears as well. The school meant a lot to her. She had it perfectly designed and suited for her students and now she had to leave it all behind. Dumbledore patted his hand on her back and guided her to her seat comfortably. Karkaroff, without indications or notice, immediately continued.

"Durmstrang also was host to a similar attack. At first, I thought it was no threat but then I saw the sheer size of the darkness followers. I understand first-hand what power they have and what they will do if they catch us. There was no hope to defeat them all without risking massive damage to the school and to the students. That is why both the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students all all on their way to Hogwarts, transport being provided and authorised by the very own Ministry of Magic by courtesy of Cornelius Fudge. They will arrive in one day. Durmstrangs! I don't expect any crying or moaning on this matter. We have always slept on the cold hard floor, survived in the toughest conditions and even here, we will continue this tradition!" Karkaroff spoke with ambition yet some hatred. The Beauxbatons girls seemed to be even more depressed about hearing the cold floors, remembering the terrible conditions Hogwarts supplied when compared to back home. The Durmstrang boy's all nodded in unity, none complaining or debating what their leader had just said to them. Dumbledore shook Karkaroff's hand softly and went back to his position.

"The sleeping arrangements have been arranged. Beauxbatons, you will be sleeping in the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor common rooms for tonight. Extra beds have been supplied so do not fear. This is only temporary. We are all working on giving you all a separate place to sleep in. Durmstrangs, you all will be in the Hufflepuff and Slytherin's common rooms for tonight. Your new timetables will be issued in the morning. I know this is a very big announcent but you must understand that the top priority of any school is the student's safety. Hogwarts is safe and secure and we will always offer protection to those who need it. Remember that even when the flame is dying out, it still offers light to those around it. Good night everyone." Dumbledore spoke kindly and he rose his hands in the air, gesturing everyone to leave the halls as it was extremely late at night. Hermione was deep in thought, knowing that his analogy with the flame meant much more than meets the eye. Discussions were everywhere, many freaking out and coming up with theories around the recent attacks on the other two schools. The Beauxbatons girls were in tears except Fleur who quickly walked over to Harry before he left the hall.

"Harry! Ronald! Wait for me!" cried out Fleur loudly and Harry stopped almost instantly. Ron also turned around and he gave a beaming smile at Fleur but it felt more goofy than flattering. Hermione gave her a disapproving look, crossing her arms.

"Fleur? Can you believe this? It's just crazy." said Ron in disbelief, staring quite awkwardly at the French girl.

"I know! It'z insanity! Living 'ere for three yearz? I can't even stand one!" moaned Fleur, glancing at all of the other students cramming to get outside of the massive entrance. Hermione made a offended face at her comment but decided to not open her mouth, partly because it didn't seem worth her time to argue at the moment. Not when darkness was so swiftly approaching. They began to make their way to the Gryffindor common room, following Seamus, Dean and Neville who were engaged in quite a spectacular debate. Harry walked over to the side of Fleur, softly biting his upper lip.

"Fleur. Do you know anything about the attack on Beauxbatons?" questioned Harry with interest.

"Non. You'd think I would be ze first to know..." replied Fleur and Harry nodded sheepishly but with a hint of disappointment.

"Why would the Death Eaters be going after your school? Seems rather fishy." wondered Hermione anxiously, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Yeah you'd think their first destination would be Hogwarts. You know Harry? Cause you're here..." said Ron nervously. Harry frowned.

"Thanks Ron for the reminder that Voldemort's primarily gunning for me. Although to be fair, you are right. Maybe it was just a random attack? Had nothing to do with Voldemort at all." Harry considered, carefully stepping up the revolving staircase. One wrong step on the stairs felt like a death trap, even though there was no real danger present at all.

"It's possible I suppose but honestly this is all so confusing to me. I need some sleep and then we can think about this in the morning." Ron said with a loud yawn and they arrived at the painting of the fat lady.

"Viveum." demanded Hermione and the fat lady opened immediately, sipping down a glass of red wine. The common room echoed in conversation about the merging, no one seemed to feel like sleeping at all. Well except the Beauxbatons girls who were all simultaneously running into a spare room and closing the door behind them shut. Fleur assumes this is where she would be sleeping. Hermione turned to Harry and Ron.

"I'm going to the delivery tower. It closes shut for the night in an hour and I need to mail this to my parents. You can entertian our new guests I suppose. If you know how in the first place... See you tomorrow." said Hermione quickly and she rushed off, not even looking back to see Harry's tiny wave of goodbye.

"Everytime I see her, she's either running to places or revising our subjects. Does that girl ever sleep?" said Ron in shock and Harry nodded in approval. Harry couldn't even remember the last time Hermione wasn't up and about. It was like she had a million things to do and every time she completed one, another one would pop straight up. Luckily for the both of them, there was no homework due in for the final week of school term. That was quite unlike Professor Snape who would take pride in setting large amount of essays every lessons with over complicated questions and unreachable word counts for anyone not named Hermione Granger. Fleur bowed to the boys politely and grinned at them.

"I guess I'll be zleeping now. Don't sneak out again!" joked Fleur happily and she went to join the rest of her friends in the spare room which used to be referred to as the 'games room'. Harry blushed slightly and Ron shook his head with a grin.

"You snuck out with her?"

* * *

Hermione's journey to the delivery tower felt longer than it should have but the empty hallways and the non-existence of sound made each corridor feel more expanded than before. Most other students were in their common rooms, only some present in the courtyard chatting idly amongst each other. A veil of darkness surrounded the castle, a few drops of rain descending from the pitch, black sky. It was cold and unnerving to travel around in a place where you could barely see so Hermione got out her wand.

"Lumos." she whispered. A bright, white light appeared at the tip of the wand and she held this light low to the ground, in order to not disturb any of the living paintings. She walked up the revolving staircase and into the main room, the sound of owl's hoots and flapping wings filled the air. She also spotted someone catering to the owls. A strange blond girl with a relaxed yet uncomforting posture. The girl turned her head around and she looked very surprised despite the fact that nothing was here to shock her. Maybe she hadn't recovered from the merge still. It was really unexpected after all. Hermione grinned at the girl nicely.

"Hello. Do you work here?" Hermione asked in an attempt to be friendly. The girl was wearing Ravenclaw robes and some glasses that looked like it came out of Zonko's joke shop. Those glasses made it feel like she was trying to hypnotise Hermione due to the large, colourful spirals spinning rapidly. The girl took them off promptely and nodded.

"Yes. I thought the owls could use some company. Well human company anyway. They already have plenty of owl friends to talk to! It's quite weird that they haven't started to talk yet, don't you think? Must be the freezing cold. It's putting them off." the girl stated as if it was factual but Hermione remained entirely confused and sort of creeped out by the unusual girl.

"Oh well I'm just here to deliver a letter. I've been assigned an owl already so that won't be a problem. I'll just leave you be then." Hermione answered back awkwardly and walked over to her familiar owl. The owl was quite beautiful, covered in white as snow feathers, bold red eyes and delicate claws on its feet. She popped the letter on his feet and smiled.

"Take this to my house. 41 Culthoat Street. Hampshire. God speed Leo." Hermione told the owl and instantly the owl flapped his wings and began to fly, hooting happily as she did. Hermione turned back around but the ditzy, peculiar blond girl seemed to have vanished, her hypno-like glasses lay dormant on the floor. She attempted to head back downstairs when a boy blocked her path from the staircase, laughing maliciously as he did so. Like Hermione, no one else was alongside him.

"Mudblood! Fancy seeing a disgrace like you here. You trying to send a letter to Viktor telling him who you really are?" Draco spoke harshly yet softly as if he was testing her limits. Hermione growled at him.

"None of your business!" said Hermione right at his face, not hesitating or stuttering as that would show her as intimidated. Malfoy didn't scare her. He was just a foul, racist bully and she certaintly wasn't going to appear weak in front of him.

"Well I was just sending a message to my father. About this dumb plan. It's completely ridiculous. Dumbledore's clearly losing it in his old age. My father will speak to the Ministry about this and I promise you that the old wizard and that fat oaf you love so much will be completely removed of position. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll put some blame on Harry and his crazy stuff he spouts out! Such a cry for attention!" Draco continued with contept, scowling at just the thought of his enemy. Hermione glared at him, resisting the urge to punch him again.

"You're blind Draco. You're blind to it all. Although I'm not surprised, considering your parent's background." she answered back angrily.

"Don't you dare mention my parents. Just because you're jealous of the fact that my parents are some of the most influential and powerful wizards in all of the magical world. What are your parents again? Oh wait don't tell me. I already know. They're nothing but filthy muggles with a filthy muggle daughter!" Draco spitted angrily and Hermione reached her breaking point. With all her strength, she pushed Draco against the wall, a loud bang as he collided. He moaned in pain for a second but then...

He gave her a smile. A vile, cruel smile but a smile nonetheless

"What a violent girl..." whispered Draco as if he was sort of enjoying it. What the? Was he taking some sort of sick pleasure from this?

"Just stay away from me Draco! Stay away from me and Harry and everyone else." shouted Hermione, her grasp firm and rough.

"It seems like you're the one who doesn't want to stay away. See? You won't even let go." Draco spoke into Hermione's ear passionately, his hands stroking Hermione's cheek gently. Hermione let go of her clutch on him and Draco shook his head. Without any other word, Draco left and Hermione noticed his wicked grin never left his face, chuckles erupting from the staircase as he went down. It was only then she realised something...

Draco didn't have a letter to deliver in the first place...

* * *

 **A/N:** _Sorry for the long update. I had school/exams etc. :( I plan to update more regularly from now on and the chapters will be pretty long. Hope you enjoyed this regardless. Any constructive criticism/ideas/pairings will be greatly appreciated! Thanks for all the favs/follows and reviews! I didn't think I'd get that many on the first chapter! Thank you so much!_

 _Jessica_


	3. Confrontation

"You know that school ends in three days right? I'll be spending most of the summer in Spain. So exciting! Hopefully we get to visit the wonderful beaches there..." Dean droned on endlessly, watching as Seamus kept nodding after every couple of words in an attempt to seem like he was paying his full undivided attention. Fleur couldn't even keep her eyes open, tiredness overtaking all of her feelings. She definitely couldn't get used to how uncomfortable the beds were or the fact that she had to walk all the way down, through the revolving staircase, to the great hall just for something to eat. She chatted with some of her friends which their conversations mostly revolves around how terrible Hogwarts was when compared to Beaxubatons until Harry and Ron finally awoke from their slumber, hair messy and yawns prevalent. Hermione walked up to the three of them, smirking devilishly.

"As usual, it's the boys that wake up late." she said jokingly, her hands by her hips. Ron frowned.

"What's the point in getting up early anyway? There's no lessons in the last week of term."

"Well actually I want to talk to Dumbledore." Harry rebutted, lazily trying to fasten his tie.

"About what?" asked Fleur with intrigue. "Iz it the merging?"

"Yep. He needs to explain to me everything. This has to have something more to do with the Death Eaters attacking. There must be a motive or a secret he's hiding from everyone else." explained Harry in curiosity, straightening his messy hair. A sigh could be heard from behind and when the four of them turned around, they witnessed a irate-looking girl with a devious smirk plastered on her face. Fleur grinned at the sight of her.

"Um... Hello?" said Ron rudely. The girl rolled her eyes at the impoliteness.

"It'z Gabrielle. Remember?" she asked, visibly annoyed. Harry suddenly remembered who she was. After all, he had saved her from drowning as well as being attacked by whatever those mermaid creatures were during the second task. The feeling of being underwater had always been unnerving to Harry. Despite the fact that the gillyweed let him breathe underwater, the motions and helplessness that he felt as he tried to navigate the harsh terrain and avoid the dangerous creatures gunning for him was memorable in such a terrible way. Gabrielle was the younger sister of Fleur but unfortunately that was all Harry knew about her. Well except for the fact that she was French, intelligent and seriously irritating.

"What iz it sister?" Fleur said quietly, desperately trying to maintain consciousness. She had never felt so unbelievably tired before.

"If you're going to talk to Dumblydore zen you hav' to wait. I think not here at ze moment." explained Gabrielle matter-of-factly, waving to some of her friends from the Ravenclaw table. She then walked off but not before helping herself to a delicious green apple. Harry raised his eyebrows, a look of panic emerging from his face. Hermione, however, didn't seem as concerned.

"It's not that much of a surprise if you really think about it. We don't see Dumbledore as often as the other teachers. He's probably out on some private affairs. It could even be about the merging." Hermione stated calmly, having a small bite out of some hash browns. Harry frowned.

"It's nearly the end of the year Hermione. If I can't see him this year then I'm going to have to wait next year and believe me, I'm too impatient for that. Maybe he left something for me before he left. Like to brief me on what's going on. " Harry wondered in annoyance, taking a glance at the staff's table and predictably the headmaster was not present. Ron didn't seem too bothered by this, instead taking a liking to scoffing down his breakfast as fast as he possibly could. Fleur looked at him with disgust but quickly changed her demeanour when she turned to Harry and Hermione. She was also very interested in discussing the recent events with Madame Maxime.

"We could go check hiz offize later on. Together Harry?" asked Fleur kindly but with a hint of smugness as she really didn't want Hermione or Ron to come with them. Hermione didn't seem to be too fond of her and Ron was a bit bold and ridiculous for her taste, even if he seemed nice. While the two didn't seem too happy about this proposal, Harry on the other hand was definitely on board with the idea. This was indicated by a small blush appearing on his cheek.

"Oh. Sure... How about after we finish breakfast? said Harry eagerly although it didn't seem like he was eating anything in the first place. Fleur nodded her head and similarly she didn't feel like eating either. Her appetite had been lost ages ago. All she wanted to know was the truth behind it all...

* * *

The morning sun's glow began to fade and after a particularly long time waiting for Ron to finish his ginormous breakfast (which included way too many pork sausages) and listening to Hermione's many theories about what Dumbledore was really planning, Harry and Fleur set off to Dumbledore's office alone. Unlike the previous night, the halls were full of chatter and the occasional fireworks going off from the antics of the Weasley twins. In fact, one of the castle walls had been completely recoloured bright yellow. It was sore on the eyes but noteworthily impressive regardless. They made their way up the stairs and to the gargoyle corridor in order to reach the Headmaster's tower.

"You knowz the pazzword?" asked Fleur, hoping that they had not made this long trip for nothing.

"Of course. Dumbledore told it to me at the start of the year. It's..." but a cold, enraged voice interrupted from behind them. They both jumped and turned around quickly, revealing a very angry Professor Snape eyeing them with pure hatred. Despite the fact that Dumbledore allowed Harry to be up here, Snape didn't seem to agree with the fact that the boy could make his way to anywhere he likes without intervention. The animosity between the two was infamous.

"What a surprise. The famous Harry Potter seems to think that he can go anywhere without consequence. That'll be 50 points from Gryffindor for attempting to trespass into a teacher's office so I suggest you leave immediately unless you want more points deducted." demanded Professor Snape, slowly stepping forward to the two students. His voice didn't raise in volume but it still sent shivers down Fleur's spine. She didn't really know what to do so she kept herself silent, looking over at Harry in anticipation for his reaction. Harry didn't seem intimidated or frightened, instead standing his ground as if he was trying to send a message back to the professor. A large scowl was plastered on Harry's lips and while Fleur hated being disrespectful towards authority, there was something about Professor Snape that felt off...

"Where's Professor Dumbledore?" questioned Harry bravely without stuttering or lowering his voice. Snape looked as if he wanted to kill Harry right there.

"None of your concern. The world doesn't revolve around precious Potter so I'll make sure that none of the staff will inform you of his whereabouts. 20 points from Gryffindor for wasting my time with stupid questions. Now leave!" screamed Professor Snape. Fleur already hated this man and she had just barely met him. They both quickly walked out of the corridor, Harry growling with extreme rage.

"I hate him so much. All I want is to know what's going on and as usual, no one tells me anything." Harry said under his breath, face red with anger. He then realised that he wasn't alone and quickly apologised. Fleur grabbed his hands with her own and kindly smiled at the hot-tempered boy and almost instantly he began to calm down. Her grasp was smooth and soft, making it feel very comforting.

"It'z ok. Trust me, I hate 'im too!" and Harry smirked at this. She thought it was actually kind of cute.

"That's great. I mean yeah I don't think anyone likes him." responded Harry awkwardly but he still seemed kind of tense. Fleur wanted to calm him down as she hated being around anything that was causing anger or fear.

"How about we go to Hogsmede? With Hermione?" she added, hoping that would incite him to accept. Harry thought about it for a moment, obviously desperate to find out what was going on with Dumbledore. After a little while, he nodded his head.

"Ok. Sure." he accepted and he seemed to have grown much calmer after the earlier incident. They both walked downstairs and to the centre courtyard where Hermione and Ron were waiting. Hermione ran up to Harry and her face portrayed something that was very unnerving.

"Finally, you're back! You'd better come quick! We just saw Cornelius Fudge and I overheard what he was talking about!" Hermione said tensely.

"Well what is it?" answered back Harry. Fleur stared with intrigue at the three of them.

"Well Fudge said that he was planning to remove Dumbledore from his position and replace him with Igor Karkaroff!" said Ron dramatically. "That means a former Death Eater will be in charge of Hogwarts!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all the feedback and responses! I'm so shocked I have so many favs/follows already! Sorry for short chapter but I've been busy with exams etc. I plan to update at least once a month (usually three times on a good month) and if any beta-readers are interested fixing my story then I'd really appreciated it!**


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